The news of the Corrupt Path lair raid by the Wei Dynasty - which was yet to be announced to the general public - went through the Martial Alliance like lightning out of the blue.

The local branch of the Martial Alliance immediately dispatched their own investigators to the scene, only to have them stalled as they needed approval to have access from the Imperial Family, which was granted only after 24 hours had passed since the incident.

It was a major embarrassment for the Wei Dynasty that a lair was hidden under their noses, but it was an even bigger scandal for the Martial Alliance, whose authority partially came from organizing the efforts of the Righteous Path in opposing the Evil Path, Corrupt Path and Demonic Path.

The Dynasty was able to alleviate some of the disgrace by sharing in the credit of discovering and exterminating it because not only was it their Imperial Guard Commander who did it, but by him receiving appropriate rewards, it was now rightly an achievement made under the authority of the Emperor.

Martial Alliance, on the other hand, not only missed a lair sitting in the same city as their direct branch, but also shared not even a spec of credit in locating it or taking it down.

The leader of the Martial Alliance delegation sent to the Soft Meadow Continent, Lu Bihai, was pacing the room, both relieved and angry that he wasn’t in the capital.

He was relieved because he wasn’t at the risk of being the scapegoat for the Martial Alliance for this shameful incident. As Head of Administrative Affairs for the Branch, he very well could have been the one to put all the blame on since he oversaw the handling of reports and information travelling internally through the branch.

He was angry, however, because right now the Martial Alliance was likely in talks with the Imperial Family, trying to figure out some kind of a deal to share credit before this was announced to the general public. And the one to succeed in making that deal would receive a lot of credit internally within the Martial Alliance.

A knock on the door woke him up from his thoughts. Disabling the formation that shut down outgoing sounds from the room, he irritably shouted, "What is it?!"

"Department Head, the 9th prince of the Wei Dynasty is here...", was the response from behind the door, causing Lu Bihai to raise his eyebrows.

"The 9th prince? What’s he up to now...?", Lu Bihai muttered under his nose with a confused look, but after taking a deep breath and readjusting his demeanor, answered in his usual neutral tone of voice, "I will be there right away"

He then took a moment to wait, to not appear too subservient. In the meantime he took the opportunity to straighten out his clothes and adjust any signs of distress on his face.

And then proceeded to come out of the inn room that he converted into a makeshift office for himself, and into another one that was remodeled into a meeting room with sofas and armchairs, making the formal greeting to Wei Yuanjie.

Lu Bihai immediately noticed that the 9th prince was now surrounded by about 10 people in low-sitting bamboo hats with veils covering the sides in addition to Duan Feng, but there was no sign of the handsome man who hasn’t appeared publicly since that incident with the son of the Iron Claw Group’s Leader.

’Heh, so he’s finally feeling the pressure of competing with the 5th prince face to face? It seems that the handsome friend of his became a burden as well... although there’s rumors he left the continent altogether... maybe that’s why he feels the need for more protection? That guy is said to be very formidable after all, without him the prince is indeed more vulnerable...’, Lu Bihai thought as he sat down opposite the prince, outwardly making a wide smile, "To what do I owe the honor and pleasure, Your Highness?"

"Oh well~, you know, I had a lot of time on my hands... and we haven’t finished that conversation from the time we were drinking wine before and you were giving me advise, although it is a bit personal for me...", Wei Yuanjie didn’t hurry to answer directly, turning to look at Lu Bihai’s aide who led them to this meeting room and now stood by the door, as well as other Martial Alliance staff present.

"Hahaha, of course, Your Highness...khm...leave us for a bit, His Highness and I have things to discuss that concern his privacy", Lu Bihai understood that this talk was not for the ears of his subordinates, although it did irk him a bit that the prince’s subordinates remained while he had to send out his men, but since he had a secret agreement that involved Wei Yuanjie and Ember Palm Pavilion, it was better to be safe than sorry later.

He then activated the protective formations in this room.

"It is a bit unusual for you to contact me directly without the Ember Palm Pavilion, Your Highness, not to mention to come in person", Lu Bihai’s tone shifted to a more straightforward one, although with some caution.

"There have been a few changes in circumstances", Wei Yuanjie smiled, and then added as he saw the change in Lu Bihai’s expression, "But don’t worry, you are still going to become the Branch Head. Or rather, would you like to aim higher?"

"H-higher?", Lu Bihai widened his eyes, since higher than the Branch Head for him was only..., "Are you offering me to become the Martial Alliance representative for the Wei Dynasty?"

"Still too low", Wei Yuanjie shook his head with a smile, "You could have a very bright future, if you know how to cooperate well. You know that third partner that you made the deal with aside from the Ember Palm Pavilion? Well, it isn’t me or my sister, it’s someone else who made a deal with my sister, but then again, you already know that"

Lu Bihai gulped, becoming a bit pale, and feeling like the decision he made to get entangled in all this was a far more significant and dangerous one than he imagined.

Meanwhile, Wei Yuanjie placed a Spatial Ring on the table.

The Head of Administrative Affairs for the Martial Alliance Branch in Wei Dynasty took it with a cautious look, and upon sinking his Spiritual Sense inside, jumped up to stand, holding out the Spatial Ring with a slightly shaky hand, "This...! This...!!!"

"Is a corpse of a Corrupt Path practitioner who was missing at the Corrupt Path lair that my sister’s Imperial Guard Commander, or as we both know, he is now General, raided the other night", Wei Yuanjie confirmed, "In the records found on the scene, this man is listed as having been away from the lair for a very long time on some kind of secret mission, the details of which are not specified, and had not given contact in almost a year"

Lu Bihai’s lips and throat went dry as a realization began appearing in his eyes, one that made his head spin, and flooded it with thoughts and even great dreams he never even dared to imagine.

Wei Yuanjie, seeing this, widened his smile, "General Chen who conducted the raid, withheld one name from his report to the Emperor and high nobles, receiving quite a bit of critique for it, but nevertheless it was allowed for technical reasons. That name, is a very important one, because it is a name of the first witness, the name of the person who gave the first tip-off that started off General Chen’s investigation into the Corrupt Path lair"

Lu Bihai licked his dried up lips with a nervous look, as he slowly sat back down, his eyes intently looking at the prince.

He wasn’t a stupid man, so he knew that this was a very crucial moment.

It wasn’t just an offer of a tremendous opportunity, but also a test. And the test was simple, consisting of two hurdles.

The first hurdle was, whether in this moment, he would ask the right questions, while being wilfully ignorant of other ones which were logical to pose.

"What do I have to do?", he then asked after a pause.

Wei Yuanjie smiled again, thinking that Wu Long really did predict how this conversation would go too precisely, "That is the correct question. But first let’s discuss the opposite, what you should not do, or to be a bit more blunt, whose behavior you should never imitate"

Lu Bihai cleared his throat a bit nervously, knowing that he was now facing the second hurdle - whether he learned the right lessons from someone who failed, and whether he made the right choices from now on.

He gave a very quick glance - that was completely different in content now - to the people in bamboo hats behind the prince, and then returned his eyes to Wei Yuanjie, "Is that... related to the Ember Palm Pavilion not being here?"

"Correct again", Wei Yuanjie nodded, "You already knew that me or my sister weren’t the third partner in your agreement with the Ember Palm Pavilion, why is that?"

"B-because they told me. They also told me that our mystery third partners are related to the first group that came up from the Battle God’s Cradle that disappeared without a trace, and act through the now notorious in this city Talisman Master, they asked me to help them discreetly look into the Talisman Master... as well as that Zhao Xieren or whatever, the fixer working for the Soaring Feather Trading Company... they wanted to conspire with me against the third partner, to strike as soon as they won in the competition of the three Sects", Lu Bihai rattled off the answer without hiding, his hunch told him this answer was linked to not only his future success, but his survival now.

"You make one right decision after another", Wei Yuanjie nodded with a smile, and then pointed with his open palm to Duan Feng who silently sat in an armchair to the side, "Yes, they told you all that, exactly a week ago, right here in this room, with their Inner Court Elder sitting right in the exact spot where Master Duan is sitting now"

Lu Bihai lowered his gaze down, his face becoming a bit pale.

Wei Yuanjie, however, continued on without stopping, "Your decision to not shake their hand right at that moment, postponing your answer, despite potential great benefits for yourself, is why you are getting this offer now - your hesitation alone shows you are smarter than those three from the Ember Palm Pavilion, or have better instincts, perhaps both"

"I... got the message", Lu Bihai spoke in a low volume, now staring at one spot on the low table in between them.

"Not yet", Wei Yuanjie shook his head, causing Lu Bihai’s gaze to shoot up and look at him, while the prince continued with a smile, "Don’t be so spooked, this is a good thing"

He took out a very luxurious scroll case with the seal of an Imperial Heir Candidate on it, "This is my sister’s signed pledge of endorsement of you for the position of Branch Head, you can have it now. It is the hope of our mysterious partner that you continue being smart and have good instincts in the future, good fortune will follow such a person"

Wei Yuanjie placed the scroll on the low table under the widened eyes of Lu Bihai.

The latter was first shocked, and then realized that he passed the test, and this was just a small reward for that. He then took a moment to collect himself, and presenting a more confident and genuinely grateful demeanor, cupped his hands, "This Lu Bihai will certainly meet those expectations"

"Good", Wei Yuanjie nodded, "Now, let’s discuss that change in circumstances..."

The topic of the conversation shifted to the upcoming moves and Lu Bihai’s responsibilities in those, lasting roughly half an hour.